Hank and the Sleepover
by Goldsaddletank
Summary: The tugs have a sleepover with the Queen Stephanie, only Hank is scared of the dark. Can the Queen help? (Request for tate310)


One morning in the Big Harbour, the Dispatcher told the tugboats that the Queen Stephanie was staying with them in the Big Harbour overnight.

"I want you all on your best behaviour tonight." He told the tugs sternly.

"Don't worry, Mr. Dispatcher sir, we'll behave." Theodore promised.

Emily came up with a brilliant idea. She looked at her friends and the Dispatcher.

"Can we have a sleepover, Mr Dispatcher, please?" She asked politely.

This surprised the Dispatcher, but he felt that the tugs deserved a treat for working hard and he knew that his tugs were very sensible and wouldn't cause a racket.

"Alright, you can." He told them with a smile in his voice. "But you must promise to obey the rules- first; you must stay in the harbour. Second, I will let you talk and laugh, but remember, keep it down as the rest of the harbour will still be sleeping. Finally, don't stay up too late. You still have work tomorrow- am I clear?" He added sternly.

All of the tugs promised to obey the Dispatcher's rules about the sleepover and that they will not wake the whole harbour.

Once the Dispatcher had given his blessing, the tugs all set off excitedly chatting about the sleepover- except for Hank. He was very nervous about the sleepover, because he was afraid of the dark. He wasn't as bad as before, but he still felt uncomfortable about it. So he stayed quiet about the sleepover as he worked on his jobs.

"Are you excited for the sleepover, Hank?" Theodore asked him excitedly whilst they were on their way to their jobs.

"I don't know, Theodore... it sounds fun, but I'm still scared of the dark."

Theodore understood now, and he felt sorry for his best friend, so he said; "There's no need for you to worry, Hank. Nothing will happen to you." Then he bumped him very gently to remind Hank that it would be alright, and this made Hank feel a little better as he knew that Theodore would be there, no matter what.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

...

Hank felt a bit better, though he did still feel nervous. So he only talked about the sleepover sparingly- especially when he realised that the Queen Stephanie might realise that he was afraid of the dark and he didn't want that. He knew that he would feel embarrassed if she knew his fear.

"No, I'll act brave! Then no one will know that I'm scared." He said to himself. He knew that his friends were all brave, in one way or another, and he wanted to be as brave as them someday. Maybe today was the day? But that was easier said than done.

...

Soon, the sun was setting over the harbour. The tugs were glad that their working day was finished, though the tugs had to bring her in to the harbour.

Hank still felt scared about the sleepover that night, and he didn't want the Queen Stephanie to know. He also wasn't keen to let on that he was still afraid of the dark to the other tugs, but it was very hard to think of how to make it less dark for the sleepover.

"She's here!" He heard his friend's excited cries, and sure enough, in came the powerful and beautiful Queen Stephanie. She blew her horn in greeting, and the tugs tooted back.

"It's so good to see you all again!" She exclaimed in delight. "I haven't seen you in a long time!"

"Hello!" The tugs all tooted in response.

"The Dispatcher has allowed us to have a sleepover tonight, and you're invited!" Theodore told her excitedly as they were buttoned on to the Queen.

"Oh my, how exciting that sounds!" The Queen exclaimed in delight. "I would love to come to your sleepover!"

"We're glad." Emily told her earnestly.

...

Once Foduck had explained the rules of the sleepover to the Queen Stephanie and reminded the others of them too, they decided to start their night of fun.

First, they played 'Truth or Dare.' As they had to be mindful of noise levels, they just had them either tell some embarrassing or funny stories about themselves, or as an alternative, come up with nicknames for each other- but keeping in mind not to hurt anyone's feelings.

At first, it was fun, but after a while, they decided to do something else. They decided to play a game where one boat said something, and then someone else added to it. As she was their guest, they felt it was only fair that the Queen should go first.

"Ah well, once there was a little tugboat named Roderick. He was calmly floating along when..."

"He saw a great big monster, with shining blue scales and great big webbed wings and teeth of claws made of silver!" George boasted.

This made Hank feel scared when he heard about the monster, and Foduck and Theodore noticed straightaway.

"But the monster only came to say to the tug that it was lost." Foduck added in, looking at Theodore.

"Yes, and so Roderick helped him by taking him to see a beautiful island, as green as an emerald." Theodore put in, thinking of Willie's Island.

"Only when they got there, Roderick found out that the sea monster was actually a she, and she had children of her own, who also became friends with Roderick!" Emily finished.

The tugs all laughed. It had been a silly story indeed and even Hank had to admit that he wasn't feeling so scared by the story and its monster. As the game had been so fun, they decided to do another one. Queen Stephanie selected Theodore to go first, so he started a story of how a rowboat met a mermaid trapped on the beach.

...

After playing a third and final game, they decided to end the evening by stargazing and quietly chatting.

Only Hank was still afraid of the dark, and he didn't want the Queen Stephanie to turn off her lights.

"Is something wrong, Hank?" She asked him kindly.

"Yes- I'm afraid of the dark." Hank confessed, ashamed. He knew that there was no point trying to hide his secret.

"Why, that's nothing to be ashamed of." The Queen Stephanie told him gently. "I once used to be afraid of storms."

"Really- so what did you do?"

"Well, I just learned to appreciate the good things." The Queen smiled. "You see, I like watching lightning, because it always excites me."

"So what's good about the dark?" Hank wanted to know.

"A lot- but your friends are currently appreciating the most obvious one. Look up at the sky."

Hank did, and he gasped.

The stars twinkled high above them, and the moon shone brightly like a lighthouse's lamp. But what really amazed Hank was that there were green, blue and purple lights in the sky above the Big Harbour.

"Do you see the Northern Lights?" Stephanie asked.

"Yes, and they're beautiful." Hank replied, awed, and he moved closer to the Queen. But as he did so, he felt someone move close to him. It was his friend Theodore.

"Don't the lights look wonderful, Hank?" Theodore asked Hank

"Yes, they certainly do. I'm glad we could all see them together." And his friend agreed.

But just before they all settled to sleep, Hank sent a small toot to the Queen to say 'thank you,' and she winked back at Hank.


End file.
